How are you all?? So….it finally happened! I’ve been transferred out of my first area. I’ll miss all the people of course, but strangely it doesn’t hurt that much- I know that I have a purpose here in my new area and that life goes on. I hope I did all I could in Angeles, and I’m grateful for all the people I met there and for the things I learned.

My new area is….Baler! I bet you could look it up on google and it would be awesome. It’s called the “Paradise of Angeles Mission”, and is where all the missionaries want to go because it’s right on the BEACH!!!!! It’s a cute little tourist town, and it’s absolutely fascinating! Sometimes I feel like I’m in a mix of small-town Southern Utah, then Jurassic Park, and then Hawaii…if that makes any sense haha. But I love it here- there’s surf shops, coconuts, pineapples and palm trees everywhere. Some of our appointments are in these far off houses in the middle of the jungle, and it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if there are still dinosaurs hiding somewhere out here- it feels just like Jurassic Park! It’s so awesome!

But of course, that’s not why I’m here in Baler, we still have missionary work to do! It’s just a little branch here, and there’s a lot of less-actives. The work has been struggling a little and so we’re excited to start working here! Oh, and my companion is Sister Ioane- she’s Samoan and is one of the sweetest, most humble missionaries I’ve ever met. She’s soooo obedient and loves the people here so much. We’re very excited for this transfer. The branch president is very young, only 23 and I think he only got home from his mission a couple years ago. But he’s awesome and loves the people here so much- I’m super impressed that a 23 year old college student is willing and able to take care of a group of more than 200 people from various backgrounds and family situations. It’s a testimony to me that this church is true, and that’s there’s something definetly special about the work that takes place here in the church.

But I know that this is God’s work. We are the shepherds and the people here on His sheep and He loves them very much. I mean this is a remote, far-off area. A tiny town more than 4 hours away from any major city and yet Heavenly Father sends missionaries HERE because He loves these people. I’m grateful for the guidance of the spirit- I just met these people, I don’t know what their concerns or worries are, but God knows, and I’ve taught things, promised blessings and even prayed for things that I had no idea our investigators needed. The best lessons are the ones where I can’t remember what we’ve said because the Spirit guided us the entire way.

I love you all and hope everyone’s happy! Time is so fast, can you believe it I’ve almost been out 9 months!!!